Dump trucks often carry particulate aggregate material such as sand, gravel, dirt, grain, and the like. Dump trucks usually have a large rectangular bin, or hopper, pivotally coupled to the chassis or frame of the dump truck. The forward end of the hopper can be raised to tip the hopper and discharge, or dump the contents of the hopper out of the rear tailgate of the hopper. Unloading the contents of the hopper in this manner is usually a quick way to empty the contents of the hopper. Unloading the entire load of the dump truck in this way is not always desirable because it deposits the load of the dump truck in only one location at the back of the truck. Additionally, dump trucks are often unable to deposit their loads exactly where they are needed because of obstacles between the roadway and the desired dump site. In these cases, the load must often be manually moved from the dump location to where it is needed.
To solve this problem, special conveyors called “slingers” have been coupled to hoppers of dump trucks. A slinger includes a conveyor that can be attached to receive the aggregate material gravity fed from an outlet of the hopper and convey the material to a location that is remote from the dump truck. Slingers can be mounted on a pivot assembly that can move or pivot the conveyor from a stowed position along one side of the truck for transport to a use position extending from the rear of the truck for dispensing material stored in the hopper. For certain types of truck and/or conveyor designs, a conventional pivot assembly cannot be used without substantial modification of the vehicle. For example, in some cases, the hopper must be mounted on actuators that can raise the rear of the hopper to a position above the input end of the conveyor for use and to lower the rear of the hopper in order to lower the center of gravity of the truck for driving the truck. As can be appreciated, such a design adds significant cost to the truck. What is needed is a slinger that can be safely stored along one side of the vehicle for transport and then moved to a use position behind the vehicle with the input end of the conveyor below the discharge opening of the hopper for dispensing material without having to raise and lower the rear of the hopper.